In 2011, Lucas stated that development has been delayed awaiting advances in technology and reduction in costs[5] and Rick McCallum, the Star Wars and Red Tails producer then involved with the project, indicated that it would be at least another "three or four years".[3]

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With the exception that the series will not star main characters from the films, statements by George Lucas and Rick McCallum about the plot remained vague and apparently changeable[9][10][11][12] until Lucas' 2011 revelation that 50 scripts had been completed.[5] In an interview shortly after, McCallum revealed the series revolves around "the Empire slowly building up its power base around the galaxy" and a "group of underground bosses" who live on Coruscant and control drugs and prostitution.[3] Entertainment Weekly expanded on this, stating the series tells "the story of rival families struggling over the control of the seedy underside of the Star Wars universe and the people who live within the subterranean level and air shafts of the Empire’s urban-sprawl-covered home planet."[6] The article's statement that "a bounty hunter may be the main character" recalls a reference by McCallum to bounty hunters[13] and circumstances surrounding the cancellation of a book by Karen Traviss,[14] which lend credence to the notion that Boba Fett is one of the characters to be featured.

McCallum cited Deadwood as an important inspiration, and re-imagined Battlestar Galactica creator Ronald D. Moore was revealed to be one of the writers who contributed scripts under a non-disclosure agreement. McCallum said about the show that it is complex, dark and adult,[15] and called it the most "daring material we have ever done."[16] "I think, thematically, in terms of characters and what they go through, it will be… if we can ever get it together and George really wants to pursue it, it’ll be the most awesome part of the whole franchise. It’s Empire on steroids."[4]

The series is to match the look and feel of the films[16] and consist of hour-long episodes.[17] It will feature multi-episode arcs[16] and McCallum has indicated that character development will follow an approach similar to the Game of Thrones TV series.[4] It will be shot following the production model used for the prequels, filming on location all over the world and editing in the US in parallel.[17]

In May 2011, George Lucas stated that 50 episodes had been written, but that the series is on hold awaiting advances in technology and reductions in prices.[5] McCallum has elaborated on this, contrasting the high production costs of the series with current developments in TV production,[3] and highlighting the question of monetization in the era of online distribution against the backdrop of the collapse of traditional TV broadcasting.[15]

After Lucas' retirement from blockbuster moviemaking in 2012,[18] McCallum indicated that should production move forward, Lucas would probably take an active supervisory role similar to how he produced The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles.[17]

On October 30, 2012, The Walt Disney Company announced an agreement to acquire Lucasfilm. The deal includes the rights to the Star Wars franchise for which Lucas will act as creative consultant to a new film trilogy, which is to debut in 2015.[19] Rick McCallum left Lucasfilm shortly after the acquisition.[20] In a conference call following the press release, Disney stated its interest in the potential of a Star Wars television series, but did not go into details.[21]

In January 2013, ABC Studios president Paul Lee stated that the live-action Star Wars series was being reevaluated for production.[6]

In August 2013, Lee again visited the topic of a Star Wars live-action series, stating, "We've started conversations," he said. "I'd love to go there. I'm a particular fan of Lucasfilm. It's an amazing world."[22]

In March 2014, it was reported casting was underway for a Star Wars live-action mini series and TV specials.[8] Nothing definite was revealed about the subject of either, but it was speculated the specials may refer to Darth Vader projects which were the subject of a photograph leaked late 2013.[23]

In early 2012, some confusion arose after an IGN interview with McCallum in January[15] left the impression that the project's working title was Star Wars: Underworld. In a subsequent interview with IGN in May,[16] McCallum denied that this was the case.